Rye (Secale cereale) is a grass grown extensively as a grain and forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, vodka and great whiskeys.
Here is to a life filled with love, alcohol and clothes on the floor!

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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Top 5 Tales of the Cocktail Seminar Picks

Its 35 days away from Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. Last night at a fantastic Meals on Wheels charity event, a band played a jazzy New Orleans song and my body started dancing that two step. I can't wait to dance on Louisiana soil again!

A highly interactive seminar. A short introduction to the creative process - examples of creative thinking. The key word here for me is "Interactive". I'd like to start this week off getting my creative groove on.Hollywood Cocktails: Louisiana StyleFri, 23 July 2010Grand Ballroom North, The Royal Sonesta Hotel3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Lights! Camera! Action! It’s Hollywood Cajun-style. Louisiana has been the setting and location for hundreds of motion pictures through the years including classics and favorites such as A Streetcar Named Desire, Jezebel, King Creole, Easy Rider, Interview with a Vampire, Live and Let Die, and Sex, Lies, and Video Tape to name a few.

Come join this movie buff event lead by four film & drink experts; Ted Haigh, William T. Garver, Cheryl Charming, and the author of, New Orleans Goes to the Movies, Alan Leonhard.

Cocktails made with Louisiana spirits will be served. Yeah this one is right up my alley! But I demand recognition of The Big Easy and the smokin' Denis Quaid. Sadly this most anticipated seminar is right before my Margarita competition...hope I won't be too nervous to enjoy it.

The history of the cocktail has always proven itself highly resistant to accurate investigation. This session will discuss the causes of that resistance and explore some of the strategies that have proved successful in countering them. In other words, a session for the history geeks, but with colorful anecdotes and Lazarus drinks. I am a history geek, indeed. And j'adore David Wondrich, the moderator.

Plate and glass, finding HarmonySun, 25 July 2010Grand Ballroom North, The Royal Sonesta Hotel1:00 PM - 2:30 PMThis is a hands on seminar that features guest Chef Peter Smith from PS 7's restaurant, and Gina Chersevani, mixologist. Attendees will gain a rich knowledge of how to grasp the concept of balance and harmony between the plate and the glass, and how to translate that into a menu that patrons will not only understand, but will LOVE! This appeals to my inner foodie and again..hands on is key descriptive here.The Hotel Grunewald, Roosevelt and Fairmont - Over 100 Years of Cocktail HistorySun, 25 July 2010The Queen Anne Ballroom, Hotel Monteleone10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

This seminar will chronicle the cocktail history and folklore attached to the great New Orleans hotels that have gone by the names Grunewald, Roosevelt, Fairmont, and once again, the Roosevelt. I am IN New Orleans, after all...why not absorb the rich cocktail history of town at its absolute fullest.